Alicja Zmys\u0142owska | Frozen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nI shit myself for a second, thinking it\u2019s a wolf, then spend the next couple wishing it was. At least then there\u2019d be the chance it would put me out of my misery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a dog. Wolf-shaped, at least. That’s as much as I know. I\u2019m not good with dogs. Don\u2019t know the breeds, never had one, don\u2019t want one, think I got bitten by one once as a kid. The thing sits there in the scrub just looking at me, indifferent, like it\u2019s been waiting for me to wake up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow you feeling?\u201d it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right, okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dreaming. Still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not dreaming,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh. Shit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I try to talk back, but it takes a couple of attempts. \u201cYour mouth isn\u2019t moving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s telepathy for you,\u201d the dog says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d the dog replies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dog\u2019s expression hasn\u2019t changed during this exchange. I convince myself I\u2019m hallucinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not hallucinating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow-\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just told you. Telepathy. And the reason the dog\u2019s expression hasn\u2019t changed is because I\u2019m simply using it as a conduit. You didn\u2019t actually think you were having a conversation with a dog, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what to think right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dog shifts position and scratches its neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t remember Hamish?\u201d the voice says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe likes you. Always has. God knows why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh dear. Jonathan – your name is Jonathan, Doctor Jonathan Searle – I want you to sit tight. Don\u2019t move. Hamish has a GPS tracker on his collar, he\u2019ll stay with you. I\u2019m dispatching the helicopter now to bring you back. Be about half an hour though. You\u2019ve covered some serious ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSide effect, I imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I turn my hands over. There are barcodes printed on the soft side of my wrists with numbers beneath. When I press the flesh, I feel something hard and rectangular just under the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cold, extreme cold, renders them useless. I remember that now for some reason. But why would a doctor need to be fitted with a tracker? Hang on. Other bits and pieces are coming back to me now. Doctor. Doctor Jonathan Searle. That\u2019s not-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSearle. That\u2019s not my name,\u201d I say to the dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It shifts in the snow. \u201cNo, it\u2019s mine. First one that came to mind,\u201d it says again without moving its mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not the doctor, I\u2019m the patient,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dog says, or rather projects, nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo that\u2019s wrong. Not the patient<\/em>. The subject<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe helicopter is in the air,\u201d the voice says. \u201cYou\u2019ve been through a lot tonight, please just stay where you are, try not to exert yourself. Help is on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2019Help\u2019?\u201d I say. I get to my feet, adrenaline enabling me to stay up on them this time and make it several steps before stopping. I look around. The dog is right behind me. \u201cHamish?\u201d I say. \u201cStay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dog sits and I set off again, but the little bastard pops back up again. I start to run, hoping I can leave him behind but he sticks with me. I stop and he comes to heel at my side. I kneel and he starts licking at my hands as I inspect his collar. The thing is a one-piece affair with no locking mechanism, looks like it\u2019s molded around his neck, impossible to remove, the GPS tracker sealed within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou’re wasting your time. Hamish is going to stick to you like glue. It\u2019s what he does. I wasn\u2019t lying when I said he likes you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re lying about everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They sent the dog to track me when the chips in my wrists failed. If I am prepared to run naked through the snow in freezing cold conditions to avoid being found, I must have a very, very good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apparently, I\u2019ve come far. Too far to fail, to be captured. Not rescued. Captured<\/em>. These words coming to me are the right ones, I know now. The truth is starting to become clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI pat the dog on the head and hold it by the collar. \u201cSorry, Hamish,\u201d I say, as I wrap my arm around its neck and clamp my hands over its nose and mouth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cold. Unbelievable cold. So cold it burns. I lift my head from what I first think is my pillow and find myself looking at the shape of my face in the snow. A perfect mold. Of a man I do not recognize. I prop myself up on my elbows and touch my face. It\u2019s numb, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flash-fiction","category-short-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1381,"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions\/1381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/grahamwho.com\/grahamwrites\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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